UnitedHealth may quit Obamacare market in blow to health law

That followed reports earlier this fall that several smaller, nonprofit insurance cooperatives would stop selling coverage on the state-based exchanges, which are a key element in the ACA’s push to expand insurance coverage. “We are pleased that the tools created under the health care law are working as meant to give consumers access to high-quality health insurance coverage and keep cost affordable”.

Tanquilut estimated that patients covered by the exchanges represented only 5 percent of his expectations for HCA’s 2015 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

Under that program, the state uses Medicaid funds to buy coverage on the exchange for adults who have incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level: $16,242 for an individual, for instance, or $33,465 for a family of four.

The company in a statement went on to add that it is “evaluating the viability of the insurance exchange product segment and will determine during the first half of 2016 to what extent it can continue to serve the public exchange markets in 2017”.

Despite Swedish’s commitment to the ACA, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a leading Obamacare foe, predicted, “if United Healthcare pulls out, the Blues won’t be far behind”.

“We can not sustain these losses”, CEO Stephen Hemsley said during a conference call with investors Thursday, the Associated Press reported. “We view it still as a big opportunity”.

Aetna offers policies in 17 exchanges, a number that could grow if it completes a planned merger with Humana.

If there is too much pressure to keep premium prices down, or other pressure that could make it hard for insurers to make money on exchange plans, Mendelson said, “They could kill this market if they’re not careful”.

“The exchanges now are an unprofitable, untenable book of business”, Windley said. Obamacare has handed us a bunch of personal financial problems to solve, it’s true, but I no longer feel as if I’m playing Russian roulette with my health and my finances. The risk-corridor program is created to help insurers deal financially with not getting enough in premium payments to offset their costs from paying out health benefits.

“We know a lot more today about this business”, he said, “pushing rate increases in the low teens” for exchange policies. He also said the company’s forecast for 2016 earnings ranging from $7.10 to $7.30 per share would have been higher.

The company increased its exchange participation from 4 to 24 and has plans to increase that number to around 34 in 2015 despite Thursday’s announcement.

“It shook me to the core to see that”, he said, speaking to a group of 17 gathered in the basement of Elizabethton’s First Presbyterian Church.

Just a month ago, UnitedHealth said that it was expecting substantial improvement for the Obamacare business in 2016.

The announcements from all three insurers come as customers visit the online exchanges to compare plans and shop for coverage that starts next year.

The National Health Council, which represents people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and cancer, had pushed the administration to provide better oversight of the doctor and hospital networks for exchange plans so patients can easily get care – and the proposal does include such a provision. The firm may drop as many as 500,000 Obamacare policies in 2017.

About 10 million people are now enrolled, and emergency-room doctor James Williams says he sees many with “insurance in name only” – cheap plans that become unaffordable for expensive hospitalizations.

According to information released Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centene spent about 75 percent of the $133 million it collected in premiums previous year on medical care and related expenses.